[jotucker1983]

Whoever closes the deal (gets all the stipulations + the signed contract) first should get the commission, in my opinion. Just because someone submits it first doesn't mean it should be theirs, especially if someone else is doing all the work.

I agree with this. Getting the merchant to submit the app and statements is the easiest part. Getting them to sign the contract and get everything else in is where all the real work is. That's when you actually have to sell and close.

Sorry I'm going to have to disagree with both of you.

- Not having a deal exclusivity rule in place can create a significant amount of chaos at your office over what Broker should be in control of the deal in terms of mark-ups, terms, etc. 15 - 30 days is a good normal average exclusivity range.

- I still don't understand what you guys refer to as "closing" the merchant, but maybe it's because I do things differently? When I market I disclose the pricing and payback cycle ranges upfront, so if a merchant is interested and sends over a completed package, they are already "sold" on the program. I just need to get them approved at the range I discussed, which once that happens, now I just spend my time chasing them to get all of the closing items in.

But if you are marketing to the merchant for "capital" without letting them see that you are selling short payback cycles and a high cost for capital, in my opinion you are just going to end up wasting a lot of time, energy and resources.

Especially when a significantly large amount of merchants run from your offers thinking you were about to present something closer to conventional.